McCALL | WE WILL BE WARY OF CHARLTON CHALLENGE

8 December 2016

Bantams boss Stuart McCall says he will be expecting a tough challenge from an improving Charlton Athletic side when City return to league action at the Northern Commercials Stadium this Saturday (10 December 2016).

Two weeks after their last league outing, McCall's men feature in Sky Bet League One once again this weekend as they welcome Charlton to Valley Parade for their final home fixture before Christmas.

Charlton were down in fifteenth place in the League One table last month following the departure of former manager Russell Slade, but a run of seven points out of nine under caretaker boss Kevin Nugent has lifted the Addicks to within two points of the play-off spots.

On top of their upturn in form, Charlton have also recently been boosted by the appointment of one-time MK Dons manager Karl Robinson as their new man in charge.

After an FA Cup game, ironically against MK Dons, last weekend, this Saturday's match will be Robinson's first league fixture in charge of Charlton.

As much as McCall is aware of the growing momentum around Saturday's visitors though, the City chief is confident that his side are still a match for anyone in the division when they are on top form.

McCall said: "I think Charlton themselves will be the first to admit that they’ve underachieved so far this season given the quality of their squad.

"They have some real experience and ability within their squad, players with international caps and matches in the Championship under their belts.

"Scoring five in their last away game at Bristol Rovers also shows you how dangerous Charlton can be on their day.

"They are under new guidance now in the form of Karl.

"He’ll have had a full week to work with his players on the training ground this week and it will be interesting to see what system they go with.

"As with any game at home for us though, as much as we are aware and respectful of the opposition, we are confident that we can be a match for anyone if we can get at least eight or nine of our players playing on top form.

"We will enter Saturday's game knowing that we will have to be at our best to get the three points we desire.

"We are looking forward to getting back out there and playing at a high tempo in front of a big crowd at home."